Chapter 5
"How did these people get in here?" Maan questioned the security, as they continued to wrestle with the man whose face he couldn't see. When the man turned around, Maan recognized him as the one who fought so crazily that day at the temple.
"You!" shouted Maan in surprise. "What are you doing here and how did you come here?"
"He came with us," answered another voice, causing Maan to turn toward the group of people he had given only a passing glance.
His sharp eyes immediately took in the three males and two females standing off to the side, each with different expressions on their face. The young girl looked nothing so much as tired, while the older woman and one of the men looked at her with concern. Maan assumed them to be her parents, but he was less interested in them than the older man. He was obviously the authority figure, and therefore the one that Maan looked to for answers.
"Just what do you mean by this intrusion into my home?" he questioned sternly, never taking his eyes off of the eldest Handa. The man stepped forward and with one hand held out something towards him.
Maan took the piece of paper and saw his own handwriting which read, "Along with sending back your girl's things, I am giving you the address of my Delhi residence. Contact me if you ever have any desire to reconsider your decision in this matter. Maan Singh Khurana"
Maan smirked slightly, before saying, "So, you finally came to your senses. It would have been better if you had contacted me first to let me know of your intentions. However, never mind that, let's just get down to business. I'll call the police and when they get here, you can make out your statements."
"We didn't come here to talk with the police. If you dare to bring them into this matter, I will not spare you or that gaddaar you call a brother. We are here only to restore our family honor, the honor that was stolen from us." Brij moved threateningly towards Maan, clearly wanting to take a swing at him.
"You dare come to my home, Maan Singh Khurana's home, and talk like this? Before you complain about your stolen honor, look to yourself and ask when have you acted honorably?" The two men were very near coming to blows, with the security trying to intervene when a regal voice came from above.
"What is this? Why are you shouting at my grandson?" came the question, given with great authority from Savitri Devi, the Khurana matriarch, as she began to ascend the stairs. "Maan, who are these people and what are they doing here?"
Brij,tired of all the talking, and angry at Maan words, could not keep silent, even for Daarji. With all of his pent up fury, he shouted, "We are here because your grandson ruined my sister and stole our family's honor."
Savitri looked at him in shock, unable to believe his words. "No. Maan would never do such a thing. I know him. He can never do such a thing. I don't believe you."
"I'm not talking about him," continued Brij, too worked up to stop speaking, "I'm talking about your other grandson, Dev Khurana, the worthless liar."
By this point, Dev and Naintara had heard the commotion and come to see what happened. When Brij saw them standing at the top of the stairs, he let loose a string of curses, before callously telling Savitri how her youngest grandson and his wife had come to the Handa family, weaving their web of lies in an attempt to falsely marry Geet. Savitri still refused to believe him, and Daarji told him to shut up, angry with the way he had created such a big tamasha.
Walking up to face Maan, Daarji said, "Maan Singh Khurana, you have a reputation as a hard businessman, but someone who fulfills his responsibilities. You know the truth. You know what your brother has done. As his elder brother, it is your responsibility to answer for his deeds. That is why we are demanding that you marry Geet."
"Are you out of your mind? What rubbish!" exclaimed Maan. "I said I would help you report his illegal deeds to the police. I never said I would take his place and marry the girl."
"Maan," interrupted Savitri, drawing all their attention back to her, "Maan, is it true, what they are saying?"
Maan didn't know how to reply, but his grandmother could see the truth in his eyes. The truth that Dev could do such a thing was so shocking that she couldn't bare it. Feeling her head start to spin, she lifted her hand to her forehead automatically, even as she heard Maan shouting her name. As he carefully led her to a chair, he called for Nakul to bring water, which he made her drink with his own hand. Once she had some of the water, Savitri felt a bit better and could think a bit more clearly. Looking over to the small, pale girl, the green dupatta covering her head somehow making the paleness of her skin stand out, Savitri made a decision.
"Maan, I want to speak with you privately," she said in a tone meant to assure compliance. "Please excuse my grandson and I. We will be back shortly."
Without waiting for Maan to agree or disagree, Savitri walked off towards the room that had once been her husband's study. When Maan also came inside, she quickly shut the door, before turning to him for answers. She demanded to know exactly what Dev had done to the girl and her family, and how Naintara was involved. Maan told her dispassionately, giving straight facts without any embellishment or commentary. When Savitri heard it, she was astonished at how duplicitous her younger grandson and bahu had acted, but what astonished her more was that with all the Khurana millions at their disposal, they felt the need to do such a despicable fraud.
This forced Maan to reveal the details behind his throwing them out of the mansion and his utter refusal to help Dev with his money problems. Savitri then realized how all the incidents were connected, and how what she had thought was just a brotherly spat, was actually so much more. Shaking her head, she thanked god that her husband and son were not alive to see Dev's disgrace. She also worried that if he and Naintara had gone to this extent, what else they might be capable of. On this point Maan gave her his assurance. He had brought them both back to the mansion, keeping a very short reign on Dev and his finances, in order to prevent any such thing from happening in the future.
The mention of the future had Savitri looking pensive. "Maan, what are we going to do about this girl, Geet?"
When Maan just looked at her, she continued, "We can't leave the poor child to face this betrayal alone."
Seeing the look in her eyes, he countered, "Dadima, you can't seriously be suggesting that I actually give in to their stupid demand to marry the girl?"
"Just come here," she responded, motioning him to the door, which she opened slightly so that they could see out into the main room. "Look at the poor child. She's so pale and thin, it's obvious that she had suffered greatly due to this incident. I feel that it is our duty to help her."
"So, help her, then. Make her one of your charity cases, find some other person to marry her off to, just don't involve me in it, Dadima."
"But you are involved," said Savitri, closing the door again. "Not only is Dev your younger brother, but the choice he made was made only after you refused your help."
"I'm not saying that you were wrong to do so," she responded when he tried to protest, "or even that you are at any fault in all of this. I just want you to understand that your decision to kick Dev out did have a part to play in this whole thing."
Reaching up to pat his cheek fondly, she commented a bit wistfully, "Maan, you grew up in Delhi and with a lot of modern ideals. Well, living with your grandfather, nothing less could be expected. That is why it is hard for you to understand why the Handas are behaving the way they are. I grew up in a small village, so I know the way village societies work, and how the people think. The Handas don't actually hold you or me to blame for what Dev did, but they do expect that as members of his family, we will be responsible for his actions. In their mind, the Khurana family has wronged them, and it is from the Khurana family that they expect to make amends."
"Okay, so we'll pay them some acceptable amount for damages and send them on their way back to Hoshiarpur."
Shaking her head ruefully, Savitri observed, "Maan, someday you will discover that not everything in life is connected to money, and that sometimes people act irregardless of monetary incentive. However, that is not important right now. Right now my conscience is telling me that we can't send that girl away from here and back to her village. It wouldn't be the responsible thing to do. I know that you don't want to get married. You've told me that often enough since..."
Savitri stopped before she eluded any more to the past, but it wasn't soon enough to keep Maan from realizing what she referred to. As she saw her grandson's jaw clench in anger, Savitri quickly said, "Never mind that. I have an idea about this marriage proposal."
Maan listened to his grandmother's idea. He still wasn't in favor of doing anything to link his life with that girl's, even if his brother was the reason for her troubles. Yet, he eventually agreed with his grandmother's plan, knowing that she wouldn't give up until he did.
The Handas had been waiting for Maan and his grandmother for over half an hour. Geet had stood silently by her mother the entire time, feeling very strange about the whole thing. She didn't want to be there in Delhi, and especially she did not want to be in the place where they were now, the place where her betrayer lived. She knew his brother didn't like her, and she sincerely hoped that he would give a definite no to the suggestion of their marriage. It might make things a little difficult for her, but she was sure that if enough time passed, Daarji would give up on the idea of marriage and let her go back to school.
All her hopes were dashed when the man returned and announced, "I will agree to this marriage, but only on certain conditions."
Precap
Naintara watched secretly from the balcony as the people below discussed the marriage of Maan veerji with that girl. When she and Dev had first discovered that the Handa family had come to the Khurana mansion, they both beat a hasty retreat, fear of physical reprisal from Brij their main emotion. Yet, Naintara was unable to stay away, curiosity to know what was happening eating her insides. As shocking as the idea of Geet and Maan marrying was, she would deal with that later. Seeing the Handas standing in the main room of her home, Naintara was struck with an idea to end all her problems. It was so simple and obvious that she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before.
Anupamaa
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